Militants holed in SOG HQ killed

Date: 28 December l999
Times of India

By Rashid Ahmed

After a fierce 24 hour bloody battle, security forces finally eliminated
all three Harkat-ul-mujahideen militants on Tuesday evening. The militants
had stormed the Srinagar Haft Chinar headquarters of Special Operation
Group(SOG) at 5:30pm on Monday.

Jammu and Kashmir Inspector General (IG) Ashok Bhan said on Tuesday
that all the three militants have been killed and their bodies kept inside
the headquarter complex. The militants, whose number was earlier put at
four, were reported to be in police uniform. They ran into the SOG complex
firing in all directions, resulting in the death of six police personnel,
besides wounding more than a dozen men. Those killed included the deputy
superintendent of the SOG, Mr. Ghanshiyam. The militants later occupied the
whole complex and took positions inside. They fought a fierce battle with
the security forces, comprising the army, BSF, CRPF, SOG and Jammu and Kashmir
police.

The security forces, for their part, used mortar shells and rockets
to target the militants. This caused substantial damage to the building. The
up-town area of the Capital City was rocked under the impact of blaring
guns, grenades, mortars and rockets all through the night. The fighting continued
till 5:30 pm on Tuesday, after which, the security forces mounted a final
assault on the militants and got them killed.

Meanwhile, four more militants were killed in a separate day-long encounter
with the security forces at Ganderbal.